HOME GR/OWN - an initiative of Mayor Tom Barrett and the City Environmental Collaboration Office

Mission

Transform targeted neighborhoods by concentrating City and partner resources, catalyzing new, healthy food access and greenspace developments to promote economic development in City neighborhoods and commercial corridors.

Make it easier to grow and access local food and re-purpose city-owned vacant lots. We work within City government to streamline processes, permitting, and ordinances, making it easier to grow and distribute healthy food, start new food-based businesses and improve vacant lots into parks, orchards and healthy green spaces, increasing Milwaukee quality of life.

Work within Milwaukee's community food system to link local growers to local markets, increase urban food infrastructure (water, access, compost), support new urban farms and increase the number of healthy food retailers and wholesalers.

We just learned that HOME GR/OWN has been talked about in 9 books!

ANNOUNCEMENT: August 25, 2018

Mayor Barrett announced today that Fondy Park is the first City park to offer public WI-FI sponsored by the City of Milwaukee IT Department. Service is effective immediately. It is the first new City WI-FI hotspot in 15 years.

ANNOUNCEMENT: August 15, 2018

Do you have a neighborhood beautification project to suggest we do in 2018 or 2019?

Is it less than $10,000 estimated budget?

Is it in or around the following commercial corridors? (the beautification funding has a strong priority around commercial corridors and B.I.D districts)

Villard Avenue

Green Bay Avenue

North Avenue Gateway

North Avenue

Fond du Lac Avenue

Pierce street

Burleigh Street

Greenfield Avenue

Holton Avenue

Center Street

If it meets those criteria, send us an application and let's talk! Note: limited funding is available at this point as several projects are already underway.

As part of the 2018 Milwaukee City Budget, ECO's HOME GR/OWN received $165,000 for the new Neighborhood Investment beautification Program. The program and funding were approved by the Milwaukee Common Council in July, 2018. HOME GR/OWN has been working with neighborhood groups, business improvement districts, commercial corridors and City departments since January to lay out a cohesive plan for the spending of these funds in 2018 and 2019.

Projects already underway:

A revitalization of the Victory over Violence Park at MLK Drive and Center St with partners Groundwork Milwaukee and Historic King Drive B.I.D. #8, among others, UNDERWAY

The creation of the first butterfly garden at Butterfly park, 38th & Meinecke, DONE

Funding for landscaping at CommonBond's new GlenBrook Park adjacent to the old Northridge mall property on the City's northwest side,

A major emphasis on trash and trash clean-up efforts across the City as part of a new HOME GR/OWN collaboration with Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful,

Coordination with the Milwaukee Christian Center on a community garden project in the south side Muskego Way neighborhood,

New and improved Green corridor signage in the south side 13th aldermanic district

and more to be announced soon.

As part of the North Avenue Greenscaping Project, now in its final year, the City and the Zilber Neighborhood Initiative have awarded enhanced facade and signage grants to the following Lindsay Heights North Avenue commercial businesses:

Galst Foods

Auto Parts and Services

Mobil QuikLube

Columbia Savings and Loan

Rainbow Foods - Watch for the building improvements at all these commercial properties through the remainder of 2018.

North Avenue was repaved between 8th and 20th Streets in July, along with new corner curbing.

Fondy Park, which opened in September, 2017, began expanded programming with a yoga series, pollinator education classes and more underwritten by HOME GR/OWN.

Planning & design of a solar power addition to Fondy Park and stormwater management expansion are underway with late summer/fall installations. Primary funding for both from City ECO and Walnut Way's 2018 grant from the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC). HOME GR/OWN and Walnut Way also planning for major stormwater management/green infrastructure (GI) additions at Alice's Garden (inc. solar) with partners Alice's Garden, MMSD and Reflo and a new GI installation at Galillee church on Teutonia Ave. in Lindsay Heights.

With generous funding from the Northwestern Mutual Foundation, HOME GR/OWN is adding significant 2018 upgrades to 3 2015 HG Partners for Places pocket parks in the Amani and Metcalfe Park neighborhoods.

June 2018: WHAT A MONTH FOR FONDY PARK! At the Park grand opening last September, we cut the ribbon on what we called Phase 1. As promised, a number of Phase 2 amenities and features were added this month (photos below):

Locally-made, new corner sign installed

New rain garden added, capturing stormwater off the Fondy stage roof

New pollinator garden

New herb harden

Final landscaping around stage

Concrete ADA ramp

Note - all but the ADA ramp installed "By the neighborhood, for the neighborhood" by Walnut Way's Blue Skies Landscaping.

On June 18th, Milwaukee was hit with major storms, with several inches of rainfall reported in the area. Fondy Park's rain gauge recorded 3.7" of rainfall. The significant stormwater management features at Fondy Park captured 69,700 gallons of rainwater, helping keep Lake Michigan and our rivers clean. The Cream City Farms commercial urban farm, with sophisticated stormwater management features, captured 14,000 gallons that day, filling up the 40,000 gallon reservoir.

City Hall became a CSA Box pick-up point in June, with 29 City employees and downtown workers picking up their weekly or biweekly CSA box.

ECO HOME GR/OWN received $165,000 in neighborhood beautification funding in the 2018 budget. On June 27, HOME GR/OWN received approval of our spending plan by the Common Council's Community and Economic Development committee. Target area for initiatives include: commercial corridor beautification, clean streets, green parking lots

May 2018: HOME GR/OWN's Fondy Park won a Mayor's Design Award! Fondy Park was honored along with other outdoor and commercial projects across the City of Milwaukee. You can read more about Fondy Park here and read the news stories here.

We thank the Northwestern Mutual Foundation for a new grant of $40,000 to HOME GR/OWN which will be used over the next year to add amenities and do additional landscaping at 3 pocket parks we built in conjunction with many other partners in the Amani and Metcalfe Park neighborhoods!

March 2018: HOME GR/OWN's Fondy Park wins a prestigous LISC MANDI Award for Best Public Space on March 15th! Photos from Awards Night below. The Fondy Park partners in attendence accepted the team award on behalf of the broad public/private partnership that took a 30-year blighted, vacant lot and transformed it into a new community gathering and event space on top of a state of the art stormwater management system. You can read more about Fondy Park here and read the news stories here. LISC FONDY PARK VIDEO HERE

February 2018: The City of Milwaukee ECO and Walnut Way Conservation Corps have a won a major grant to promote and install solar and stormwater management in Milwaukee's Lindsay Heights Neighborhood in 2018. The competitive, national grant from the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) names Walnut Way as one of their new Partners for Resilient Communities. ECO, Walnut Way and stakeholders will work to complete up to 4 solar power installations and at least 1 stormwater management project in Lindsay Heights in 2018. We will also be creating a solar installer job training program for residents of color and working with residents to make Lindsay Heights one of Milwaukee's first ECO Neighborhoods. On February 23, City ECO, Health and HR departments partnered with the Milwaukee Food Council, Springdale Farm and Cream City Farm to celebrate national CSA Day. The event increased awareness of CSAs as another option to increase access to healthy, local food (a HOME GR/OWN & ReFreshMKE stated goal), encouraged local workplaces to become 2018 CSA drop-off locations and kicked off CSA sign-ups for City Hall staff.

January 2018: What if you could pick up a box nearby your house filled with local farmer-fresh produce every week this summer/fall during harvest season? That type of service is called a "CSA", for "community supported agriculture. Numerous area farmers offer a CSA subscription plan each year and the Urban Ecology Center is scheduling a "Know Your Farmer"CSA sign-up event on March 10. HOME GR/OWN and the City Health Department have partnered with the Milwaukee Food Council to promote CSAs in the Milwaukee area this winter. More information to follow but click here for more information on CSAs in general. Looking for fresh, local food now? The Fondy Farmers Market Winter Market is open every Saturday at the Domes from 9am - 1pm.

Projects

In 2018, HOME GR/OWN is focused on the 2018/2019 new Neighborhood Beautification project, Fondy Park - Phase 2, the new 2018 ISC grant with Walnut Way and the new pocket park enhancement project with the NML Foundation.